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Cowboy State Daily's The Roundup
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The Roundup is a gathering of voices, opinions and perspectives from interesting people in the Cowboy State of Wyoming.
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Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
2d ago00:08:29Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, May 27th. I'm Mac Watson. – Fifth-generation Wyoming rancher Trenton Thornock pitched a huge 1.2 gigawatt data center on family land to a skeptical Evanston crowd on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the project is facing a rising tide of opposition against data centers locally and across Wyoming. "Prometheus Hyper Scale, unlike a lot of the other data centers, you know, they have made that public commitment to community engagement, and so what this meeting was all about was answering the public's questions here in Evanston, it was at times an emotional meeting, a little unruly at times. There were some people in the audience, who just yelled out questions whenever, who would challenge answers and basically say 'You're lying!' There was one person who accused Trenton Fornock of being a sellout because he lives in Texas right now. For the most part, though, it was a pretty civil meeting." Thornock says he started his company in 2020 with the idea of first innovating water cooling systems and doing things in a more sustainable way and second impr oving the economy of his home state. Wyoming has struggled with outmigration of its youth, losing most of them by age 30 to other states. Read the full story HERE. – A fire tore through an under-construction apartment building in north Cheyenne on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that one witness says the burning was so intense, the building was "a total loss" in minutes. "He said within 10, 15 to 20 minutes it went from just seeing some flames to pretty much being a total loss, and it had been collapsing on itself. While it was burning, they could hear explosions coming from inside the building. Being under construction, there's all kinds of tanks and things with whether you're welding or paint or anything like that. So, whatever they had in there, he said they could hear it popping off." The under construction building is in the Ridgeview Apartments located at 2025 E. Carlson St. just off Converse Avenue between Sam's Club to the south and Storey Boulevard to the north. Read the full story HERE. – State Rep. Mike Yin argued against a proposal by Chuck Gray to ban political party changes after Jan. 1st in election years. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports Yin wants to know why Gray is making it harder for people. Gray says it's an election integrity issue. "So, what the committee majority, not Mike Yin and not a few others, decided was they're going to ask staff to draft a bill that is going to ban party changes for like three quarters, nearly three quarters of an election year, and so they did that. So now staff is going to build that draft, and then at a later meeting of the committee, probably September, people can come and comment, and they'll decide at that point or later whether they want to adopt the bill, which would give it an edge going into the 2027 lawmaking session, if they do." The Legislature in 2023 passed a bill banning voters from switching parties between about mid-May and the primary election in mid-August of each election year. Read the full story HERE. – Two hikers on a multi-day excursion were helicoptered to safety by Teton County Search and Rescue after becoming ill on Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that one rescuer says, "It sounded like they weren't prepared to hit as much snow as they did in the high country. "In this case, it wasn't a lack of experience or preparedness. The group knew that they were going to be encountering snow in high elevation on the Teton Crest Trail, and planned to be there for several days, but there was more snow than they anticipated, and they didn't find water to replenish their stores, because getting water off of smelting snow pack is not a bad way to work around carrying water on a trail like that, but in this case, there was a lot of snow, and not a lot of readily available water. At one point, the hikers even tried to boil snow to get water, but the National Weather Service says that one inch of liquid water is equivalent to 12 inches of snow, and even though they tried, they just didn't have enough to hydrate all four of them. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – After losing both of her siblings to a male grizzly's attack last spring and then splitting from her mother at an unusually tender age, the young grizzly named Miracle hadn't been seen this spring. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that all changed when the bear showed up at Colter Bay on Sunday. "That's almost the exact same spot she was seen almost in exactly a year earlier, and I talked to a bear biologist up in British Columbia, who, who said, yeah, that tracks, because, especially with female bears, they'll establish a range and they'll establish routes to get around, and the person who took the video said it really seemed like she was, she was coming from from one wooded area, trying to get to another wooded area, in other words, she wasn't interested in hanging out in Colter Bay. She was just making that her route through, and the biologist said, 'Yeah, that makes sense.'" Wildlife photographer Marcela Herdova tells Cowboy State Daily that the 2.5-year-old Miracle appears to be in good health. Read the full story HERE. – A Casper man who admitted being a serial arsonist and starting numerous fires got 6-12 years in prison Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that Dallas Smith sought probation instead of prison time, but the judge wasn't having it. "He apologized for his actions, said that he knew that he caused some people some financial pain, and he had said in an affidavit that he had started the fires to get rid of the pain. So he asked the judge, and his defense attorney asked the judge if he could get probation and serve time at a place in Sheridan, and the judge was not going to go along with that. She said, "First degree arson, we're not going to do any probation with that." Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri Johnson sentenced Smith to the six to 12 years, and he was sentenced to time served 270 days for three other counts of arson that were part of the plea deal. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming biologists say a wolverine that had a rare close-range encounter with a hiker in the Wind River Range mountains is the same animal they've been tracking for more than a year. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the animal has a huge range, being tracked over 200 square miles. "That's typical for wolverine range, 200 or even more. They are wide-ranging animals. The running joke, or the way I put it is, even a lot of wolverines isn't a lot of wolverines, because they are very typical, very typically solitary animals that have gigantic ranges and just don't have much to do with each other, so they're, they're not, it's not like elk, they're very widely dispersed animals, so it makes sense." The wolverine that Zachary Shifrel photographed from about 20 yards away is a mature, 28-pound male, who was collared back in 2025, so say biologists Dean Clause and Rusty Kaiser. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming meteorologist Don Day is skeptical about a popular weather forecasting website's prediction of a wetter-than-normal summer. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Day says Wyoming is a huge state for this kind of forecast. "The website Open Snow published their summer 2026 forecast in terms of temperature and rainfall, and they have above average or above normal rainfall for the entirety of Wyoming and portions of 12 other states. So I spoke with Cowboy State meteorologist Don Day about that. First off, he was skeptical because it's open snow. He said that they can be very ambitious with long-range weather modeling." Day tells Cowboy State Daily that Wyoming isn't a one size fits all state, so even if some places do see above normal precipitation for summer, that doesn't mean it's a blanket statement that's going to cover every spot in the Cowboy State. Read the full story <a href= "https:...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, May 26, 2026
3d ago00:09:36Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, May 26th. I'm Mac Watson. – On Memorial Day, Bill Parr remembers the men he served with during a 22-year career in the Navy who never came home, but he won't talk about them. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that he spoke with Parr at the Cheyenne National Cemetery. "Parr told me basically what veterans usually tell me, that it's a day for remembering those who died, those who paid that ultimate sacrifice for America's freedom, and that he doesn't want to talk about himself. And when I asked him if there's anyone in particular that he was at the National Cemetery to remember, he just kind of got quiet and tears kind of came to his eyes and he just said yeah but I'm not going to talk about them and so that's a pretty common pretty common response." Parr tells Cowboy State Daily he enlisted in 1969 at age 18 and was quickly sent to Vietnam. He served two tours on river boats providing supply interdiction coming down the Mekong River. Read the full story HERE. – It's grizzly mating season in Yellowstone, and a pair of popular bears were too caught up in courtship to notice gawking crowds. But Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the sweet scene isn't common behavior for bears. "People got a lot of really adorable pictures of them cuddling together, and I did talk to a wildlife biologist, who said don't mistake any of this for like human concepts of romance. Grizzlies don't fall in love, they don't pair bond over any great length of time. In fact, it's not unusual for female grizzly to mate with multiple males over the course of a mating season, because their eggs don't start to gestate right away, they have delayed, usually the gestation doesn't start until they actually go into their hibernation den to time it, so the babies are born around January." The amorous grizzly scene near Yellowstone Lake caused a bear jam for at least a quarter mile in each direction this past week. Read the full story HERE. – Meteorologist Don Day says reports of a Super El Niño brewing in the Pacific Ocean are ludicrous. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports an El Niño is coming and will likely be beneficial for Wyoming. "Why Cowboys State Daily meteorologist Don Dey is skeptical, because a lot of people are trying to anticipate what the impacts of this El Nino will be six months from now, and that's based on long-range weather modeling and we have seven months now of examples of how bad long range weather modeling can be when it comes to predicting these trends. El Nino historically has meant wetter weather for Wyoming in the late fall, going into winter, and then the next spring, and if there's a super El Nino, there's reason to believe that there would be more of that, just more precipitation." A Super El Niño is a stronger-than-normal El Niño, meaning the surface waters of the Pacific are warming along the equator. Read the full story HERE. – Kelley Marshall was on track for a violent death when eagle-eyed cops recognized she was being trafficked. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that one trafficking expert says that "People think it doesn't happen in rural states like Wyoming, but it does." "Kelly Marshall wants people to understand that for sex buyers, that transaction that they think is an equal financial transaction, and most cases probably isn't, probably that person is being trafficked, and secondly, she really wants under people to understand how they can help, and that's the whole point of Truckers Against Trafficking, who she works for. They want to mobilize people on the front lines to help not only recognize it but report it." Marshall has channeled her own experience into educating others as a training specialist and survivor leader for Truckers Against Trafficking, a national nonprofit that prepares truckers, law enforcement, truck stop employees, port workers, and other individuals and groups to identify and report human trafficking. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – Judge Andre Rudolph grew up in Cheyenne, played running back for UW and once ran down a defendant to earn the nickname "Batman." Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports that before the judge's sudden death last week at the age of 59, he also changed the lives of lawbreakers willing to take his help and accountability. "Judge Rudolph had a very human touch in the courtroom. He had a philosophy of justice that was more about life direction than punishment. He wanted people to be the best version of themselves, and he wanted them to see that they were not defined by their worst mistakes. As a result, his courtroom, according to his clerks and according to other witnesses, could feel a lot more like a mentorship conversation than a legal proceeding, and he had an outsized personality – just very gregarious, agreeable, sociable, but firm and intelligent." Raised by his grandmother and without the support of his biological parents in a Cheyenne home of meager means, he nonetheless thrived as a star athlete, honor-roll law student, and then became among the youngest judges appointed in Colorado. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's Catholic Carmelite mountain monks are using computers, heavy machinery, and robots to build a massive Gothic monastery in the mountains of the Bighorn Basin. Cowboy State Daily's Jackie Dorothy reports that it's a stark contrast to the simple lives these men of faith live making coffee and raising cattle. "The reason the monks are building their monastery in the rural mountains, far from civilization, is because they're seeking a life of prayer and solitude, but they also want to build something beautiful for God, and the way they're doing it is building the monastery in the old Gothic medieval style, and they're doing it themselves. The quote they had gotten before was for 20 million to 100 million, and they've done it for a fraction of the cost using modern technology. Another thing that comes up is why use modern technology. You're medieval monks, but that is what monks do. They seek modern technology, so that they can spend more time in prayer." Wyoming's Carmelite monastery began in 2007 with $400 and a dream to build a Gothic-style monastery in the mountains of the Bighorn Basin. Today, it is estimated that the monastery's church, located along Meeteetse Creek, will be finished in another six years. Read the full story HERE. – A 70-year-old tourist was killed after being thrown six feet in the air by a bull bison on a popular hiking route in Custer State Park. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the sheriff says this is the first fatal attack by a bison in the park in over 20 years. "They were ahead of them about 1,500 feet, according to a law enforcement report. One of the bulls turned around and charged the woman. The husband called 911 from behind the tree, and help did arrive fairly quickly. However, by the time they arrived, the husband was performing CPR, according to reports, and the woman had already stopped breathing, so there was nothing that rescuers could do to save her. Michelle McElroy tells Cowboy State Daily that she took video on the same trail of two bull bison and turned around. She adds that if her family had known someone died on that same trail just a day before, "I wouldn't have taken my 5 kids on it had I known." Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's looser liquor laws — and higher elevations — make for memorable nights and steady business in Evanston on the state line with Utah. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that some call it Utah's "Sin City," where people go for booze, to place bets, and buy fireworks. "I was told by three different ones that they, they generally can spot the Utahns because they're the ones that are kind of looking over their shoulder as they're ordering a beer and a shot, feeling like they're doing something wrong that they're going to get in trouble for. Utah had for a long time 3.2% beer, and in 2019 they finally got rid of that requirement that beer...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, May 22, 2026
1w ago00:09:21Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, May 22nd. I'm Mac Watson. – Converse County this week rescinded an order that could have fast-tracked data centers and given the county more control in the process. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one legislator says it's a legal issue, but people also "lost their minds" when they heard the words "fast-track." "Representative Kevin Campbell said that there was a dearth of transparency in this whole process, and that that was his main qualm with it, but in the meantime, the Attorney General's office reportedly settled it anyway by saying, 'I know you can't just put in one of these industrial parks if you don't already have zoning, you can't put it in without a mechanism like that, and Commerce County does not have zoning.'" Commission Vice-Chair Rick Grant tells Cowboy State Daily that the prospective industrial park wasn't meant specifically for a Prometheus Hyperscale data center and the county hasn't received an application for any such development. Read the full story HERE. – Parts of Wyoming got up to 2 inches of water from this week's storm that shut down I-80 and Rawlins for more than a day. But Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports all that precipitation wasn't a drought-buster. "Speaking to Wyoming meteorologists, we don't want a drought-busting storm all at once, because for as low and as dry as we are, if we got all the moisture we needed to break a drought in one fell swoop, we'd be talking about widespread destruction. May has been a very good month in terms of moisture. We've gotten several inches in the areas that needed it most, and that's definitely improved the situation. But at this point, we're looking at a prolonged drought that isn't going to be rectified by a single event, but if we continue getting more of these storms that drop an inch or two of liquid water at a time, we can make a nice dent in the drought situation." Meteorologist Don Day tells Cowboy State Daily "Getting rid of a drought is like eating an elephant — one bite at a time." Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming regulators are cracking down on bar raffle games like Queen of Hearts and Music Bingo that raise money for charities, saying they're illegal gambling. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that event organizer Brian Grzegorczyk asks, "Why is horse racing an exception, but not charity?" "His nickname became Alf Evermore, and so most people just know him as Alf, but so he has a pub here in Cheyenne called Alf's Pub, and he is the founder of a charity effort called Thankful Thursdays, and in 16 years that charity has been around 16 years now, and it's given more than four and a half million to local groups over that 16 year period, and so you know it's become a powerhouse for giving money to local charities." According to Wyoming Gaming Commissioner Nick Laramendy, Wyoming statutes define gambling as risking any property for gain that is contingent in whole or in part by chance. Read the full story HERE. – A wildlife filmmaker spotted 47 grizzlies in the Absaroka Mountains before noon, more than twice as many as he's ever seen in one day in the Yellowstone area. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that they were gorging themselves on moths, so he tried one. "He says he's eaten them a few times. He said they taste like honey roasted peanuts, apparently. Army cut worm moths taste like honey roasted peanuts, that's what he describes the flavor of them. They come up out of the prairies, and they're going up over the mountains on their migration route, that you know, long about that time, late in the summer, early in the fall, but they'll get up on the mountains, and to rest, they'll crawl underneath the rocks, and so the bears go up there and just are flipping rocks over and scooping up these moths and eating them." Moth eater and wildlife photographer Casey Anderson tells Cowboy State Daily that grizzlies will travel many miles from the low country and climb all the way up to the mountain peaks to gorge on the delicious moths. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – People are blaming — and crediting — the Wyoming Freedom Caucus for the Legislature's nearly $4 billion school spending package. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports whether the caucus deserves either depends on whom you ask. "The Freedom Caucus was taking some credit and celebrating when that package passed. So this controversy followed, right? And people were blaming the Freedom Caucus. And at first I was thinking, 'Why are they blaming the Freedom Caucus?' But then I looked back, and I saw that the Freedom Caucus had taken credit for the package, so it's become just this circle, this narrative circle, where they took credit for it, and then now there's this backlash against it, and now they're taking the blame, even though in reality it's almost a full legislature project." On the one hand, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus' former chair, speaking on behalf of the caucus, took credit for nearly $4 billion per-biennium school spending package after it became law. On the other hand, the spending plan itself contains a mix of favored and hated provisions, and it's often misunderstood. Read the full story HERE. – A former BLM director says Steve Pearce's confirmation to lead the agency is good news for Wyoming's energy industries, ranchers and land use. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that William Perry Pendley says "What the BLM director decides determines the fate of Wyoming with regard to its ability to use the land." "Former National BLM manager William Perry Pendley really is excited about this new director, because he is pro multi use on land, so it's this idea that you know we don't have to lease land for just one use, like conservation or grazing or recreation, there is land can be used for multiple things at the same time, and that's something that was not popular in the previous administration. According to Pendley, Pierce brings a private sector background to the BLM, and that's important, because work with the BLM often intersects with private sectors with private business, so it's good for the person in that role to have that experience." That reality is hard to overstate in Wyoming, where public lands define much of the state. In sprawling Sweetwater County alone, roughly 74% of the land is managed by the federal government. Read the full story HERE. – Some Wyoming firearms companies say YouTube is unfairly censoring and banning them without giving solid reasons why. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports one video creator says, "I hate to lose the audience, but I don't miss the BS," about dealing with YouTube before getting kicked off. "Big Horn Armory, that's a company out of Cody that makes rifles and other firearms. They were recently booted off of YouTube, and apparently for violating community status. I talked to their founder and CEO, and said they never clearly explained to them why. He said it was never clearly explained to them, and they were just booted off, and so they switched over to Rumble, which is a different video platform." Greg Buchel, founder and president of Big Horn Armory Inc., tells Cowboy State Daily that their posted content on YouTube didn't include any of the platform's clearly forbidden material, such as instructions on how to alter a firearm. Read the full story HERE. – Steve Price, a "legend" who raised money for many Cheyenne causes, passed away earlier this month. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports one fellow auctioneer says "I don't know anybody who wasn't his friend." "Steve Price was a legendary cowboy in Cheyenne, and also an auctioneer who raised a bunch of money for many nonprofits in the city. He didn't really have a business, but he just used that to help nonprofits, and he helped so many, including the animal shelter, the hospital, you know, also the state fair board.Somebody at the animal shelter told me that there was this bid that went on for like 10 minutes over a Josh Allen jersey a few years ago that he just kept egging people on, you know, to raise their bid, and so everybody I talked to said he was one of the best people they've ever m...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Thursday, May 21, 2026
1w ago00:08:57Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, May 21st. I'm Mac Watson. – Releases of up to 1 million acre-feet of water downriver from Flaming Gorge are gutting the gorge's world-famous kokanee fishery and has marinas racing to survive. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that one marina owner says the impact is "like a holocaust for nature." "How much water did Lake Powell get out of that? Two inches. So we took a seven-foot hit in Flaming Gorge. Lake Powell got a two two inch bump. This is the sacrifice Wyoming made to save Lake Powell and to keep Glen Cove Dam hydropower working. If they take another million acre feet, that lake level is going to fall below his boat ramp." Federal officials announced earlier this year that they will release up to 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge to boost critically low water levels down the Colorado River on Lake Powell and protect hydropower operations at Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona. Read the full story HERE. – Emotions were mixed for the 450-Megwatt Chugwater Energy Project before getting its final unanimous approval from Platte County on Wednesday. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one landowner says "If people really didn't want wind turbines they should have bought" the land. "A lot of landowners were in support of it, as they were last week at the public hearing. Heard from some others, some new landowners, some different landowners this time around, and again, a lot of support for the project. There was, of course, pushback from people who cited health concerns and property rights issues. One guy said, 'The property rights debate goes as far as your neighbor's chin, so you know that kind of saying that property rights only go so far when it, when it is your property.'" The project approval came in three votes, with commissioners unanimously approving the permits necessary for the wind portion expected to generate 300 megawatts of energy, the solar part of the plan expected to generate 150 megawatts of energy and a 150-megawatt battery energy storage system. Read the full story HERE. – Another calf was killed near Kinnear overnight Tuesday as a bitter feud over roaming Great Pyrenees dogs escalates. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that rancher Chris Eberline found one of her bottle-fed calves found partially eaten. "Eberleen said she went out to feed the bum calves that she needed to bottle feed. When she saw that there was a dead calf laying by its mother, the top half had been eaten. She said it was still fresh. Eberlyn says she has about seven cameras around the property, but they're very expensive. She's paid about $150 per camera, along with a monthly subscription fee, but so far, she's been unable to catch any of these attacks on camera, so it's been incredibly frustrating." By Wednesday afternoon, deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff's Office and an officer with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department were back on the property performing a necropsy on the animal. Read the full story HERE. – State politicos tell Cowboy State Daily that the Trump-driven ousting of Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie sends a message to Wyoming and the nation. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one former legislator says "Don't step out of line, if you do, you'll get the boot." "Former Senator Anthony Bouchard, he was, during his time in the state senate, very much a conservative firebrand. And so he was kind of spicy on Wednesday talking about Massey, who Bouchard is a fan of, like this is a sign that Trump is holding the strings, was Bouchard's take on it, and he talked about it being kind of this control and capture. On the other side, I talked to Bob Ferguson, who's the vice chair of the Wyoming Republican Party, and he said, 'No, it's deeper than just crossing Trump or crossing Trump a couple times. This guy has been an obstacle to a lot of generally Republican-backed measures.'" Massie, a Libertarian-leaning Republican who urged the release of the Epstein files, lost his primary election challenge Tuesday night to Navy SEAL veteran Ed Gallrein. At more than $32 million in advertising spending, it was the most expensive U.S. Congressional race in the nation's history. And Trump heckled Massie throughout. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – Hawk Springs Reservoir in Goshen County is a popular fishing and boating spot for locals and other Wyomingites. But Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that it's already incredibly low, and might be dried up by the end of summer. "It gets its inflows from Horse Creek have already been low this spring, and it looks like the situation is going to get worse because there's 80 plus farms downstream from it that have water irrigation rights to that water, and they're going to need their water this summer, and so the people are already saying the reservoir is going to be really low this year. It might even be all but dried up, just be because of, you know, that combination of not much water coming in, b, all the irrigation rights have to come out." Roughly an hour and a half away from Guernsey State Park, the reservoir is part of the Hawk Springs Recreation Area. It's one of Wyoming's smaller state parks and includes 24 primitive campsites. Read the full story HERE. – A weekend fire that gutted Cheyenne's Historic Pumphouse may not be the end for the run-down 134-year-old building that was recently set for demolition. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that Mayor Patrick Collins says, "We've really tried hard not to be the council to tear it down." "The fire chief says they're really, they're not going to say anything about it until they're, they're done with that, because they don't want any speculation as to how it started, where it started, and they still haven't had anybody set foot in it, because they're not sure it's safe. They've had drones in there, but just to really assess how damaged this stone building is, they haven't been able to do that. However, the mayor said that the city's architect has said that from what he's been able to see, what they've been able to see there, they have optimism that the stone is still sound. It really wasn't damaged too badly in the fire, and that you know the roof was going to be replaced anyway. It's not a death sentence for the pump." One of the oldest buildings in Cheyenne, the pumphouse has been vacant for decades and a magnet for vandals and vagrants. Read the full story HERE. – Rumors of a data center development in Lincoln County has provoked fear as locals get more vocal against them. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that a county commissioner says people are jumping the gun, because there are now no data center projects on the table. "Some of this panic is being spurred by a huge data center project in Utah called the Stratos Project, that's a data center and power development backed by investor Kevin O'Leary in Box Elder County, Utah, so a lot of people in Lincoln County, which is a neighbor to Utah, are, you know, just nervous and wanting, you know, they don't want to see what's happening in Utah come to their county, and their county is kind of, you know, nearby." Many are wary because of an escalating debate and pushback over data centers in and around Cheyenne, along with a hugely controversial project in nearby Utah. Read the full story HERE. – A young, scrawny, and seemingly confused black bear has been hanging around a rural Weston County neighborhood outside of Upton. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that one resident says he had to shoo it away from garbage cans. "So far people told me that he's behaving himself, they're assuming it's a he, probably a younger bear, maybe one or two years old, maybe just separated from its mother, and it's kind of trying to find its way in the world, and kind of showed up in this rural neighborhood outside of Upton. Folks are hoping that it's starting to hunt turkeys and maybe prairie dogs there, maybe it's looking to get some, you know, natural food sources, which is what we want ...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
1w ago00:09:01Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, May 20th. I'm Mac Watson. – Fremont County ranchers say roaming Great Pyrenees have killed livestock and terrorized neighbors for years in a rural feud that's now spiraled into criminal charges. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that court records show Kerri Johnson was charged with property destruction last week in the latest development of an escalating feud. "Two ranch families in Kinnear, Wyoming, have been telling authorities for years that a neighbor's dogs have been coming onto their property and killing their calves. Over the last several years, Kerri Johnson has been charged with an animal at large. Last week, she was charged with property destruction over $1,000 that is a felony, which carries a potential sentence up to 10 years in prison. Rancher Chris Eberline says that her husband was confronted by Johnson when he was fixing fences. Eberlyne said things escalated at a court hearing in December when she told the judge, 'Somebody's gonna get hurt.'" Ranchers living near the Johnson property tell Cowboy State Daily that the legal fight barely scratches the surface of the last several years' struggle. Read the full story HERE. – It took about 36 hours, but most of Rawlins had power restored Tuesday as a fast and furious spring snowstorm wreaked havoc in southcentral Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the Carbon County Sheriff's Office spent the day rescuing residents and helping snow-stranded drivers. "Rawlins just had a rough time of it on Monday. They had a power outage that lasted nearly 36 hours. They were still trying to get power back to some places in Rawlins on Tuesday afternoon. So the Carbon County Sheriff's Office and the Medical Center down there, they had the deal not only with the calls of residents, but dozens of people who were stranded on I 80 because I 80 was closed for most of the day, and they were having problems with their cell phones throughout this whole period, too." Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken tells Cowboy State Daily that he knew he was in for a tough day when he set out to start coordinating the response to the power outage, his truck got stuck in the snow. Read the full story HERE. – A man found dead in a car in the parking lot of the Cody airport after being missing for two weeks died of blunt force injuries and exposure to the elements. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that the family still wants answers as to how their relative ended up in that car. "Sean Ezekiel Hughes was found in a car that was not his at the Cody Airport. He disappeared on April 5, and he had been missing for 11 days when he was ultimately discovered in that vehicle by police. Autopsy reports show he died of a shoulder blunt force shoulder injury, likely from a fall, and also that combined with the elements, and the coroner said that the fall would have caused internal bleeding that combined with cold temperatures ultimately what killed him." Park County Coroner Cody Gortmaker tells Cowboy State Daily that the timeline of the man's death is unclear as to when exactly he got into the vehicle and ultimately died. Read the full story HERE. – Cheyenne's Public Service Committee didn't endorse or reject a 12-month moratorium on new data centers after hours of emotional testimony Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that state legislators say the clash exposes issues the Wyoming Legislature may need to address. "It really exposed a lot of issues that are at the state level, so you know, more guard rails around water use, more transparency. Should these things be going through the industrial siting commission right now? They have a different process that's kind of governing how they function, different people who are kind of going over whether they fit in a community, maybe the industrial siting commission needs to be part of that layer, that's, you know, some of the questions that lawmakers were asking after listening to all the testimony in Cheyenne." The committee's Monday decision highlights deep divisions over the rapid growth of data centers in Cheyenne, as nearby residents worry about water use, noise, rising electricity demand and the pace of development. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – Wyoming groups that host hunts for disabled veterans fear a proposal to change Game and Fish regulations on what counts as a disability could freeze out some vets. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the change could disqualify vets with PTSD or disabilities that aren't apparent. "Nothing has been decided yet, but there's a proposal to, well, the big one is to change what would qualify someone as disabled to get special disabled hunting access. Currently on the books, if you have a qualifying letter, if you have a letter from the VA stating that you are 100% disabled, you are allowed to do that, but what they're talking about getting rid of that and having it just be straight up, you have to have a blindness or some sort of full physical disability. These veteran groups that host these hunts for disabled veterans are a little bit concerned about that, because they're saying if you cut that out, a lot of the people we host might not qualify for special disabled hunts." The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is considering several changes to hunting regulations, including removing a provision for counting a "100% service-related disability," based on a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read the full story HERE. – The federal government looks likely to reject Wyoming's plan to invest roughly $1 billion in projected Trump-backed grants for rural medical services. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Wyoming has to spend the money quickly instead. "Wyoming wanted to invest the money and live off the interest to support these structures over like a three decade or more timeline, and the Fed said, 'No, you got to spend it within a year.' Governor Gordon did go ahead and announce that the feds approved the grant for the first year in that tighter deployment timeline that doesn't involve a long-term investment." Wyoming had planned to invest the majority of a roughly $1 billion projected federal grant for rural hospitals, ambulances, baby delivery and other health care so the state could benefit from gains beyond the five-year grant cycle. Read the full story HERE. – Yoder breakaway roper Hadley Thompson could make history this weekend as the first to earn $2 million with one throw of a rope. Cowboy State Daily's Julie Mankin reports that the 18-year-old could get a huge payout for beating the best in the world. "Hadley Thompson is only 18 years old, still in high school, and she's got experience winning first over the best in the world at breakaway roping. She's a phenom. This is not your typical rodeo. This thing is in Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers. She's the only breakaway roper from Wyoming in contention. There are also a couple of team rompers and a saddle bronc rider from Wyoming that have a chance for the big money." What could an 18-year-old do with $2 million? Thompson tells Cowboy State Daily that it's been hard for her not to think about that. Read the full story HERE. – After a mama duck panicked when her ducklings fell into a Sheridan storm drain this past weekend, a big bearded hero climbed in to get them. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that one woman who watched the rescue says it restored a little of her faith in humanity. "A Sheridan mother named Franny Blackwell was on her way home from Home Depot on Saturday when she saw a large gathering by a drainage off to the side of the road. She flipped a U-turn, and when she pulled over, she saw a large bearded man going into the sewer to rescue baby ducks. There were about six ducks in total that he pulled out. At first, Mama Duck seemed very suspicious, but by the end it was as if she knew that her babies had been rescued by this mystery man. We never learned the identity of the hero in this story, although several people said that their faith in humanity has been restored...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
1w ago00:08:14Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, May 19th. I'm Mac Watson. – A snowstorm shut down more than 200 miles of I-80 on Monday leaving motorists stranded for hours — some overnight — while killing power in Rawlins. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that in some places, residents are under 2 feet of snow. "This storm seems to have caught everyone off guard. So everything that happened on I-80 on Monday. It started because there were power outages in Rawlins, and as a result, from what we're hearing, WYDOT wasn't able to fuel its plow truck, so they had to get their plow trucks to a spot where they could refuel, and then get them out. And these outages were occurring between 2 and 4am on Monday. We've heard reports of multiple accidents, including one where a snow plow was struck, possibly by a semi truck." More than 200 miles of Interstate 80 were closed for most of the day because of winter conditions. As much as 10 inches of snow was reported in some places along the highway, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation was clearing 4-foot drifts by noon. Read the full story HERE. – The U.S. Senate voted 46-43 Monday to confirm Darin Smith as U.S. Attorney for Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the confirmation comes four days after the state's three federal judges ruled he committed "flagrant" misconduct. "There were like 49 Trump-backed nominees for various federal offices. They were voting one in a block, and the Senate voted 4643 to confirm all of them. Among them was Darin Smith, who, since confirmation, is now US attorney for Wyoming for at least four years, and so there was a big controversy Friday when the three sitting judges, you know, not senior level, not magistrate, but the three sitting judges, the main judges of the federal court signed an order together in numerous, well, nine cases saying that Smith had committed flagrant misconduct that prejudiced the defendants." Smith said that he's deeply honored and grateful that the Senate has confirmed him and expressed gratitude to the President, and to Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, who both voted in his favor. Read the full story HERE. – Two more possible data center projects are on the horizon even as Laramie County planners have recommended approval of a massive 5,600-person man camp to house workers. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one local resident says, "I did not feel like our voices were considered or heard." "Multiple county residents spoke out at that meeting in opposition to this man camp. Either it butts up against their neighborhood, it's too close to the schools, it should be farther out of town if we have to have it at all, and despite all the public opposition, the county commission, the planners opted to recommend it to the county commissioners for approval, so these residents who are speaking out are feeling like the decision's already been made, nobody hears what we have to say, and if they do, it doesn't matter, because they're moving forward regardless." The next public hearing about the proposed man camp will be on June 2nd at the historic courthouse in Cheyenne. Read the full story HERE. – Many Wyoming county clerks report a rush of last-minute crossover registrations to vote in the Republican primary. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the state Democratic Party is discouraging crossover voting, while some elected Democrats are encouraging it. "A lot of county clerks, they would see dozens of crossovers from January 1st to the May 13th deadline to change party, and half or sometimes more than half of those crossovers would be in the last five days of that window, and so you, you know, people are cognizant of the deadline, and they are crossing over, and in some counties, Teton, Albany, Laramie, and Toronto, they're doing so in droves." The primary election for Democratic and Republican nominations is Aug. 18. The GOP primary election is generally considered the most decisive election in Wyoming, since it's a supermajority state. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – Over the past decade, Togwotee Pass between Dubois and Moran Junction in Wyoming has become a circus of wildlife paparazzi around grizzlies. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that one photographer says there's arguing and even threats. "I talked to some photographers that say the crowd can instantly can easily blow up to over 100 people in no time at all, and so you've got all kinds of problems, you got a busy highway, cars improperly parked, people wandering around on the pavement, maybe bears crossing the road, and then, of course, people getting extremely close to bears. The rule is stay 100 yards away from bears. It applies there just the same as it applies in the national parks, but I mean, if you see some of these photos or this video that the one person sent to me, these people are a lot closer than 100 yards from the bears." Officials say the growing mob over the bears is a disaster waiting to happen. It could be only a matter of time before somebody gets mauled by a grizzly or a semitrailer plows into people too distracted by bears to pay attention to traffic roaring by on U.S. Highway 26/287. Read the full story HERE. – A young person died of blunt force trauma Saturday after falling from a moving pumpjack in the Elk Basin oil field in Park County, according to the Sheriff's office. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that a retired oil worker says in his experience, "It's easy to forget how dangerous pumpjacks can be." "Retired oil field worker Eugene Brown said that in his experience working in that area, in that oil patch, for over 20 years, it was not uncommon for those pump jacks to be out in the open. They were not fenced off. He said he saw youngsters playing on them, and that it is extremely dangerous." The Park County coroner's office confirmed that an autopsy was completed on Monday, but because the deceased is a juvenile, they will not be releasing anything about the name, age, gender, or identity. Read the full story HERE. – Facing the pointed questions of Riverton's old-guard coffee group, known as "The Gentry," has become a proving ground for serious Wyoming political candidates. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that governor hopeful Eric Barlow told those gathered that people in government should "do your damn job." "The temperature of the room was mixed. You definitely had some Barlow fans there, and you had some harsh critics. You had Wayne Dick, gave him a grilling, Fremont County GOP chair, Ginger Bennett did as well, and so he fielded that, and he told me afterwards he thought it went well." The core group of The Gentry are men-of-a-certain-age who all drink black coffee, all run politically conservative and all live in the Riverton area. Read the full story HERE. – On his first day out black bear hunting in the Snowy Range Mountains, a Cheyenne hunter got his pickup hopelessly stuck. But, Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that on the second day, River Mossberg bagged a super-sized black bear. "A guy was actually using spot and stock, that means you go out, put boots on the ground, and you look for a bear through binoculars or spotting scope, and then when you see it, then you've got to figure out how to get close enough to shoot. He said that the day before he was trying to show his dad a new hunting spot, and so, I got my truck just buried in the muck up there. So his entire first day of the hunt was wasted trying to get the truck out of the mud, but then on the second day everything came together and he got this nice huge bear." Mossberg tells Cowboy State Daily that when he spotted the black bear he said, "Holy cow! This sucker is size 5XL!" Read the full story HERE. And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide ...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, May 18, 2026
2w ago00:09:17Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, May 18th. I'm Mac Watson. – Fremont County Fire Chief Ron Wempen tells Cowboy State Daily the Wind River Canyon fire was started by a "mechanical issue" on a BNSF train. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the fire leaped from the train, into the canyon, and quickly spread. "It was confirmed that the fire was caused by some kind of mechanical malfunction on a locomotive that was going through the Wind River Canyon. We don't know the exact nature of that malfunction, but it seems like it was something with the motor. It grew to around 140 acres, but from what I understand, it's either nearly out or completely out as of Sunday, so not a serious fire, but one that a lot of people notice, as it was sending flames up the western slopes of the Wind River Canyon all day Saturday." Several agencies sprang into action to battle the fire in the Wind River Canyon, including a Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe, famously known as the "Sky Crane" helicopter, that flew in from Central Wyoming Regional Airport to make water drops. Read the full story HERE. – Speaking of fire, a fire ripped through the 134-year-old Cheyenne Pumphouse on Saturday, raising questions about whether the historic building can still be saved. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that one local preservationist says watching the structure burn "was like witnessing a death, for sure." "A lot of the historic old, old hardwoods that was used for the roof and for some of the inside parts was pretty much were burned, but the guts of the place, the bones of it is all stone. It's stone, it's mason work, it's brick, and so the hope is that that stuff wasn't damaged too badly, because the roof burned a lot of it caved in. However, the preservation plans were calling for replacing the roof anyway. And so when I talked to them, they said, 'Yeah, it was just devastating.'" The city's historic 1892 brick and stone pumphouse building was spared a date with the wrecking ball by the Cheyenne City Council back in December. Fire officials say their active investigation is ongoing. Read the full story HERE. – A hiker from Colorado hit the wildlife watcher's jackpot last weekend coming within just yards of one of about 15 wolverines estimated to live in Wyoming. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that wolverines are so rarely seen that his photos and video are considered to be once-in-a-lifetime. "They're very rarely seen, and when people do get photos of them, as we've reported before, it's usually very blurry photos from a distance. But a literal rocket scientist got some great pictures and crystal-clear pictures and video of it. The wolverine, you can see in the pictures, he's wearing a radio tracking collar. Still, trying to determine whether it was a Wyoming Game and Fish department collar, but again, this guy, he said he had just enough time to get his camera out of his bag and shot some good photos and some good video of the animal, and then it turned and took off, and that was that. But it's just, it's kind of one of those one-in-a-million stories." The hiker, Zach Shifrel, captured footage of the wolverine near Squaretop Mountain in Sublette County nearing the end of his hike. Read the full story HERE. – The author of Wyoming's Food Freedom Act says recent decisions by the state Dept. of Agriculture to shut down sales of locally produced food are government overreach. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that Tyler Lindholm, the state director for Americans for Prosperity and the author of the Food Freedom Act, spoke at a rally in Cheyenne on Saturday, saying the government has found their way around our laws and intent." "The first was in March when the Wyoming Department of Agriculture banned Wy Fresh Farm in Cheyenne from selling certain meats. The second one happened in April up in Cody with Hippie Cow Creamery, when the Department of Ag said they could no longer sell their lattes because they were using raw milk in the lattes. When he's learning that there's this growing pressure and there's these things happening now, across the state, that's causing him to say we need to rewrite this law, we need to make it absolutely unambiguous." The law signed in 2015 allows producers to sell almost any type of homemade or farm-raised food directly to consumers without state licensure, permitting, certification or inspection requirements. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – A Cheyenne attorney and his father, a former Wyoming attorney general, saw what they described as a huge, super-bright UFO while driving on Highway 59 in 1991. Now, 35 years later, Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that Richard Barrett says he's still trying to figure out what they saw. "It appears right over their vehicle as they're headed south on Highway 59. He said he rolled down his window and put his head out and looked up at it, and to his estimation, he thought it was like 10 stories tall, two discs went upon another, and at the top there was these windows, he said, at the apex there was these windows, and these two discs were like together. It wasn't like they were two separate discs, and there was no noise at all. He said this huge thing that's hovering, that's above them, it's rotating with rotating lights, but the light is so bright that it makes the nighttime day no noise at all." Barrett tells Cowboy State Daily that he and his dad waited until the next day to see if it was in the newspaper, radio or television. When they didn't see anything, both men decided not to tell anyone for fear people would say "they were off their rockers." Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's federal judges on Friday dismissed nine felony-level criminal cases, including one first-degree murder case against interim U.S. Attorney nominee Darin Smith. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Smith was accused of making "inflammatory and inappropriate" comments to a grand jury. "Shortly after, the judges issued their order, saying this was misconduct, the defense attorneys fired back and said 'We didn't get a chance to respond to the government's argument A and B. We think that these cases should be dismissed with prejudice permanently, because that's the tendency in misconduct cases like these.' So that's a motion for consideration that was pending before the court as of Friday." The judges are pausing their dismissal order until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to give the federal government the chance to appeal if it wishes. If the government doesn't want to appeal, the order will go into effect immediately, so says the order. Read the full story HERE. – Thor Stephenson Jr. thought he was going to die after a shotgun blast destroyed his leg during a pheasant hunt in 2013. Not so. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that he still gets outdoors on a custom brown and gold Bucking Horse prosthetic he says symbolizes being cowboy tough. "People stop him all the time at his full-time job. He works at the Home Depot in Rock Springs, and he says that the prosthesis has become a part of his personality, it's not just a tool, it's a way that he can connect with people and talk about his love of the Cowboys. Stephenson says he's grateful to the Casper doctor, Camille Lamont, who was able to fit him with this new prosthesis, and the last handful of years he's really been able to learn to trust it more. He's been elk hunting, he's been fishing, he carries logs over his shoulder, and he works full time, something that he knows is only possible because of this prosthesis." Stephenson walks into work wearing a custom $68,000 University of Wyoming prosthetic leg wrapped in brown-and-gold swagger and the famous bucking horse logo. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's world-famous Fossil Cabin was built from more than 6,000 dinosaur bones, weighs 52 tons and was a target for vandals along U.S. Highway 30. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that it made a nail-biting, 7-mile crawl this week to a new permanent home at the Medicine Bow Museum. "It weighs 100 and I think 15,000 pounds...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, May 15, 2026
2w ago00:09:03Tap to summarizeRussia's state-run nuclear company owned Wyoming uranium assets until 2021. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that how that happened remains murky, but one piece of paper is to blame. "During the Cold War, we signed that treaty with Russia, and what they were going to do is to unwind their nuclear warheads, take that uranium out of it. Russia put our uranium industry out of business over that treaty. Our uranium assets, which had once produced like 12 million pounds of ore, suddenly dropped to, you know, nothing where we were for a while there. So when things started to kick back up again for nuclear power with these AI centers." Until recently, the fact that Russia owned uranium rights raised few eyebrows in the nation. But that's changed since the United States has been racing to rebuild its nuclear fuel supply chain. Read the full story HERE. – It's been a year since the last sighting of Raspberry, the "Grizzly 399 of Yellowstone." Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that she's usually highly visible from the road on the park's east side, but so far, not this year. "Raspberry was last seen on May 23 last year. She hasn't been seen since. And a lot of people are going, you know, if she hasn't shown it, because she was like a clockwork, reliable bear, and she wasn't seen all last summer, and she hasn't been seen yet this spring. She's probably gone. There was a bear carcass found in that area, but there's some debate over whether it was hers." The debate over Raspberry's mortality continues because tissue samples taken from the carcass could take up to two years to confirm a possible match.
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Thursday, May 14, 2026
2w ago00:08:41Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, May 14th. I'm Mac Watson. – Wyoming's largest livestock marketing company sold 9,000 head of cattle in a special drought sale on Wednesday when it typically sells 400-700 head a week. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the owner of Torrington Livestock Markets says ranchers are "droughted out." "Lander Nicodemus is a co-owner of the Torrington Livestock Markets, and he said that this is really a historic year for drought. The ranchers are selling off parts of their herds because they can't feed their cattle. There's no grass. The grass isn't growing, and with the conditions as dry as they are, they're really in a tight spot, and don't have any choice but to sell so that the cattle can either go to a feed lot early or go to somewhere else where there is pasture." May is normally a slow season at Torrington Livestock Markets, Wyoming's largest livestock marketing company. But on Wednesday, a special drought sale pushed 6,500 head through the barn while showing another 2,500 head through its Cattle Country video auction platform. Read the full story HERE. – Secretary of State Chuck Gray is asking Fremont County commissioners to take "immediate" steps to eliminate a race-based county voting district. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports Gray also sent a similar letter to Gov. Mark Gordon about Wyoming's lone race-based state House district. "The planners of these districts were really emphasizing we got to concentrate a lot of Native Americans here because of the case law that reigned at that time. The Supreme Court did a little bit of a twist here last month, making it harder to justify race- based districts. And, you know, and so Secretary of State Chuck Gray went super bold in a letter and said these race-based districts are not allowed. They're unconstitutional." Racial factors went into drawing the state Legislature's House District 33 in 2021. At that time, the relevant case law indicated a need to create a mostly Native American House district in the area of the Wind River Indian Reservation. Read the full story HERE. – A huge wind and solar project near Chugwater to generate 450 megawatts of wind and solar power was unanimously approved Wednesday by Platte County planners. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports many residents showed up to express their opinions about the project. "The chug water energy project in Platte County got a thumbs up on Wednesday, when the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to move the project forward. This is a major wind and solar project. It will cover up over 49,000 acres, and it will generate a combined 450 megawatts of electricity. Many landowners are in support of it. People also oppose it. Residents don't like their viewshed being messed with. They worry about contamination with, you know, solar panels and groundwater. But overall, the project did pass, and that's going to be a huge step for this energy company. NextEra in Wyoming." Paul Norfleet, a sheep rancher who recently moved to Chugwater, who is in favor of the project, says NextEra's Chugwater Energy Project would allow his ranch to make some money. He added that revenue would go toward regenerating the land. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's congressional delegation is firmly behind the Trump administration's move to rescind the 2001 federal Roadless Rule. But Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that one bear expert says doing away with the rule could have negative effects on grizzly bears. "They did gather and had a brief press conference. Among them was Chris Servheen. He's from this area. He's from Missoula, Montana, but for more than for 35 years, he was like the Fish and Wildlife Service's head grizzly guy for this entire area. In addition to fragmenting habitat, he also argues that you start punching more roads into remote areas that just will probably up the number of Grizzlies getting killed, either people just illegally shooting them from roads, or perhaps even getting struck by vehicles. That could very well undermine the entire case for even delisting the bear." The Roadless Rule protects roughly 59 million acres nationally, including about 4 million acres in Wyoming. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – The Jackson woman who gained notoriety for passing out campaign donation checks on the state House floor is running for governor. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rebecca Bextel is running for the Wyoming Constitution Party's nomination to become governor, the party chair confirmed. "It's an interesting strategy. There's always theories, accusations, finger pointing, like Democrats are infiltrating the primary election. Democratic candidates are winning when Republicans split the vote. Bextel's tagline is that she has an insurance policy against Eric Barlow she considers the most moderate candidate. She believes the other conservative Republicans will split the vote, and if they do, she would like to be on the general election ballot to take on Barlow as the Constitution nominee." If Bextel wins the nomination, she'll face the winners of the Republican and Democratic primary elections, as well as the Libertarian Party nominee in the Nov. 2 general election. Read the full story HERE. – An argument over riding a bike too fast in a Cheyenne park escalated to a 70-year-old man allegedly punching a 12-year-old boy in the face on Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Glenn Patterson told police the boy called him a gay slur, then they both ended up with black eyes. "Patterson was accompanying his granddaughter at a park in Cheyenne when a 12-year-old boy zipped by on his bicycle. Patterson said he was going way too fast, and he confronted the boy. The boy responded with a homophobic slur. Witnesses, including his own granddaughter, say that Patterson grabbed the biker by his helmet, lifting him off the bike, and then the boy struck Patterson in his eye, resulting in a black eye that police documented, and then Patterson responded by punching the boy in the face. So, the 12-year old also sustained a black eye." Patterson was formally charged with felony child abuse, according to the Laramie County Detention Center. Under Wyoming law, the charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand, who was charged late last year with drunk driving, doesn't have to undergo court-ordered random alcohol testing while he's in Washington, D.C. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that a Buffalo-based magistrate made the decision. "He's out on bond, but he's supposed to do random alcohol testing. He got permission to forego that alcohol testing for about five days in early June so that he could go to Washington, DC. He told me that the White House invited him and other lawmakers that they're going to talk with Cabinet members about policy things and what Wyoming needs." Allemand has agreed to submit to breath testing before leaving and immediately upon return, the motion says. Read the full story HERE. – Bob Beck, the longtime voice and leader of Wyoming Public Radio, is returning on Saturday for the University of Wyoming to give him its highest accolade — an honorary doctoral degree. Cowboy State Daily's Executive Editor Jimmy Orr reports that Beck says he was surprised by the honor. "There's a few people who have lasted decades in the media, Joan Barron for 50 plus years, and she's a columnist for us. Kerry Drake has been around for 40 plus years. And then there's Bob Beck, who was the voice of Wyoming public radio for 34 years. Everybody knows Bob. Everybody likes Bob. Really smart guy, gregarious person, a gentleman, and he just lent himself to an award like this because he was so well respected." Beck, who led Wyoming Public Radio's media news team at the University of Wyoming for 34 years, retired in 2022 to move to Syracuse, New York. Read the full story HERE. <p dir="ltr...
Transcribe →Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
2w ago00:09:02Tap to summarizeIt's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, May 13th. I'm Mac Watson. – After hearing the testimony Tuesday of a woman currently facing a defamation lawsuit by U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner, the Wyoming Joint Judiciary Committee voted to draft a bill to deter frivolous lawsuits that intimidate people into silence. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Michelle St. Louis is being sued by Rasner for defamation after making online comments about him. "The bill is tricky, right? Wyoming and its and its federal courts have processes for dismissing meritless suits already. So what this attempts to do, there's two ways to do it. You could introduce a new evidentiary challenge process, kind of a back and forth, and that was a lot of people were leaning toward that. Another way that lawmakers have tried and failed to do it in the past is to just give immunity to people acting within their rights." St. Louis has told Cowboy State Daily that she believes this case is an attack on her religious faith because Rasner's complaint both alleges and laments that St. Louis had said Rasner "has blasphemed the name of God" due to his sexual orientation. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's already hot nuclear sector just went global, with Taiwan and Wyoming signing an agreement on modular nuclear reactors to serve the island's surging, AI-driven demand. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that Wyoming mining expert Travis Deti says "This deal bodes well for Wyoming." "Taiwan, for one thing, has banned practically, all but banned, nuclear on its island, but they are looking at needing six-and-a-half times more energy in the next three years thanks to the AI craze that has gripped our globe. We're going to develop some kind of test model for them, and maybe we end up manufacturing components for it as well. So it's a big opportunity for us to grow some manufacturing in Wyoming." President Lai Ching-te, in his translated remarks, said Taiwan and Wyoming have been collaborating for quite some time, and that the new agreements between Wyoming and Taiwan entities build on previous memorandums of understanding, including one signed last year on quantum computing between Wyoming Energy Authority and Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology. Read the full story HERE. – Longtime Cheyenne performer Michael DeGreve, who sang at The Hitching Post six nights a week for 30 years, died Monday in Oregon. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports that the singer had been battling prostate cancer, according to his wife. "Michael DeGreve's career, from a Hollywood hippie to a Wyoming native, effectively, is such a fascinating arc. I mean, here is somebody who grew up in northern Los Angeles and was an immense talent on the basketball court. He might have gone on to the NBA, and then he fell in love with rock-and- roll, and he started playing more guitar. It's funny how he ended up in Wyoming. He came here on a gig he was planning on staying for two weeks and then packing back up his Volkswagen van and going to the next gig, but he fell in love with the place, and he told me, 'Wyoming just has a vibe, and the Hitching Post had this amazing chemistry.'" Though his career began in the rowdy orbit of rock-and-roll icons, like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, DeGreve came to feel most at home at Cheyenne's Hitching Post Inn, where his request-driven sets and skill for story telling helped turn a hotel lobby into the capital city's preeminent social hot spot. Read the full story HERE. – A Trump proposal to lower tariffs on beef imports to lower the price of beef for consumers has Wyoming cattle ranchers concerned. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that U.S. Sen. Lummis said any tariff change shouldn't undercut ranchers. "Cattle ranchers are pushing back and saying, you know, if you allow all these imports to come into the US, it's going to cheapen our product, and we have the best beef ever. When you have these imports coming in, it's meat trimming, like, trimming from the beef that gets mixed in with the US beef to make things like, like hamburger patties. So you're not going to see any difference at, like, a steak house, or, you know, buying steak at Walmart. There's going to be no cost difference, even if these tariffs do get lowered." Beef prices have steadily climbed since 2021, driven largely by shrinking cattle numbers and strong consumer demand. Ground beef prices are up 40% from five years ago. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – The Park County GOP condemned the actions of former Sen. RJ Kost, who is running for office again, for placing a newspaper ad telling people how to change their party affiliation. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports they said his ad "undermines the principles of a constitutional republic." "I talked to the Park County Republican Party chair, Vince Vanata, and he was like, 'This is not so he saw the ad which tells you how to change your party, very much as a call to Democrats to cross over.' He didn't say that specifically, that's how Vanata says he sees it like these Democrats are going to come and sway the Republican primary? RJ Kost, on the other hand, said, 'No, this is a lot of this is about capturing independence and giving people a voice,' since the primary election is so decisive in Wyoming and in Park County in particular." The letter enters an ongoing controversy over whether Democrats are, or should, be registering as Republicans to influence the Republican primary election. Both parties' primary elections in Wyoming are set for Aug. 18. Read the full story HERE. – A black bear caused a stir in Cheyenne early Tuesday when it was spotted wandering around the east side of town. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the bear took shelter on a hayloft in a resident's barn. "The alerts went off at about 530 on Tuesday morning, and police and game of fish went out, started looking for him, and I guess they found him around seven in a residence barn out, kind of on the eastern outskirts of Cheyenne. The bear's day ended well. He got taken back out to the snowy mountains and set free again in the wild. And the Game and Fish says that they're not really black bears aren't all that common out in those open areas like Cheyenne." Barn owner Karolyn Middleton tells Cowboy State Daily that she didn't know the bear was on her property until a Cheyenne police officer came to her door and told her the bear was discovered hiding in her barn. Read the full story HERE. – "I was going to marry you but now I'm going to kill you" were the words a man allegedly told a woman before allegedly pushing her out of a moving vehicle in Utah. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that he was later arrested by the Wyoming Highway Patrol. "A woman with two black eyes was banging on the glass at a McDonald's in Utah. She told police when they arrived, that she had been thrown from a moving vehicle. Law enforcement put out a Be-On-The-Lookout call and Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers found Enrique Ballesteros, headed east on I-80 near Rawlins. Ballesteros was arrested for theft. He could face other charges in other states for allegations of domestic abuse." Ballesteros made his initial appearance in Carbon County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon. He will have a preliminary hearing in 10 days to decide if the case has enough evidence to move it to a higher court. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Read the full story HERE. – A coyote pushed its luck too far with a mountain lion in the Red Desert and ended up becoming a meal. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that most of the time, run-ins between the two end with both walking away unharmed. "There are some instances where mountain lions will actually actively hunt coyotes. Or another thing that can happen is a mountain lion will kill an elk or whatever, deer, and they'll have their kill, and the coyote will come in there and try to snatch a bite and gets you close to the mountain lion and gets taken out, and then it becomes kind of like a secondary meal for the mountain lion. So it does happen again. It's rare, but not unheard of." Mountain lions are usually ...
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